Wave of Fear
by T-Kiwi02
Summary: While on vacation an accident gives Zora a new fear and she's not acting like her zany self. Sonny, Nico, Grady, and Tawni try to help her get over her fear, and get the old Zora back. - Full summary inside.
1. Chapter 1

While the cast of "So Random!" is on vacation, they take a trip to the beach of course! After getting some sun, Sonny gets some surf lessons from Nico, Grady, and Zora. But during a demonstration Zora takes a bad wipe out that not only causes her to fear water, but it also causes her to not act like herself. Will Sonny, Tawni, Nico, and Grady be able to help her overcome her newest fear and get the old Zora back?

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"**Wave of Fear"**

**Chapter 1:**

The cast was hanging out in the prop house after their show, as usual. But this night was different. Right after their show, they received some good news from Marshall. They found out that because they were actually ahead of their filming schedule, Mr. Condor himself had granted the cast a few weeks off from work.

So rather than each member of the cast doing their own thing, they were planning what they would do over the next couple of weeks. Of course, they had already planned on sleeping over Sonny's for a few nights because her mom went back to Wisconsin to visit the Monroe family and friends.

"You know, it's going to be really nice out tomorrow," Sonny said, looking at her calendar as she planned her 'fungenda' for the five. "We should do something outdoors."

Tawni's head perked up away from her mirror. "We should go to the beach! I've been meaning to get some tan time in."

Zora looked to Sonny with a wide grin. "Yeah, and Nico, Grady, and I can teach you how to surf!"

"Definitely," Nico agreed. "Surfing is the greatest!"

"As if," Tawni scoffed. "I need to teach Sonny how to get a proper beach tan, and a beach man."

Nico, Grady, and Zora rolled their eyes.

"Come on Sonny," Grady pleaded. "You gotta choose surfing over just… just, um…"

"Sitting in the sun and killing your skin?" Zora said earning a glare from Tawni.

"Oh please Zora, someone as smart as you should know that the sun gives you a lot of vitamins," Tawni said.

"I do know that," Zora said. "But, I also know that too much sun can give you cancer."

"That's why they invented sunscreen. _Duh._"

"Oh please, you _never_ use sunscreen."

"I do at the –"

"Okay, that's enough!" Sonny yelled. "Back to your corners. And I'll do both. I'll sit in the sun with Tawni for a while, and then when it gets really hot, I'll let you three teach me how to surf. Can we _all_ agree on that?"

"Yeah."

"Sounds cool."

"We can do that."

"Good," Sonny said. She pulled out her notebook. "Now, about the sleeping arrangements at my house…"

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Please read and review!

And check out my crossover SWAC fic :)


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: **

As planned, the following morning the cast set out for the beach. And as they had agreed, Sonny and Tawni enjoyed some sun while Nico, Grady, and Zora swam and surfed in the ocean.

As the two older girls tanned and scouted the beach for cute boys, they enjoyed the entertainment of their cast mates. The three were in the middle of a splash war, where at any moment they could, either Nico or Grady would pick up Zora and throw her back into the water.

"So Sonny, when are you going to ditch me for surfing?" Tawni asked as she turned over to her back; Sonny followed suit, now lying on her back she looked at her best friend.

"I don't know." She looked out to the ocean for a moment. "So, do you ever go into the water at the beach Tawni? Or do you really just sit here in the sun the entire time?"

"Well of course I go into the water," Tawni said. "Swimming _is_ the best form of exercise after all. Duh, Sonny."

Sonny just rolled her eyes.

"And I do surf, you know. I've lived in California my entire life, so how could I _not_?"

"So then, why aren't you going to surf today?" Sonny asked.

Tawni took off her sunglasses and looked at Sonny. "Because, then I'd miss the show!"

"What show?"

"You learning how to surf! Duh!"

"Gee, thanks Tawni."

_**xXxXxXxXxXx**_

Not too long after, Tawni moved closer to the shore to tan while Sonny was schooled in the art of surfing by Nico, Grady, and Zora. Nico and Grady first helped her with paddling, while Zora helped her with footing and such.

"Okay, I think I've got this," Sonny said. "First I… um…"

Nico looked to Grady and Zora. "I think Sonny's going to need a demonstration of all the steps in action."

"You're right," Grady said with a nod. "Not it!"

"Not it!" Nico yelled immediately after.

"Are you serious?" Zora said.

"Nah," Nico said.

"Yeah, we just like to yell, 'not it!' in these kinds of situations," Grady said. "But…"

Zora rolled her eyes. "Whatever. I'll do the demonstration." She looked at Sonny. "Besides, I'll give a better demonstration than Tweedle-Dim and Tweedle-Dimmer here anyway."

"Hey!" the boys yelled. Sonny laughed shaking her head at her friends.

As Zora paddled out to a good wave Tawni hadn't been paying attention to her friends. She was still lying on her beach towel, her eyes closed. She felt a sudden breeze that caused a small shiver to run through her body. She pulled off her sunglasses in shock of the shiver.

"Who turned off the sun?" Tawni yelled. Looking around she noticed her friends out in the water on their surfboards. She moved closer to the shore, not noticing that the beach was less populated than it had been only five minutes ago.

"Okay," Nico said to Sonny, "now when Z gets on the wave, watch her stance while riding the wave."

"Right," Sonny said.

The three watched as Zora stood up on her board to ride the wave. Sonny was impressed as she watched, but her amazement quickly went away. She elbowed Nico in the ribs and pointed towards their young friend.

"Guys, look!"

Nico and Grady turned their heads to see another wave, much bigger than any they'd seen that day, coming towards Zora, and them.

"Zora, look out!"

Hearing her name Zora looked towards her friends, losing her footing in the process, and fell off her board just as the wave crashed over.

"ZORA!"

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So there's the second chapter. I'll post the third when I get some reviews :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3:**

The scene before Tawni happened before she could fully process what was going on. She had looked over to her friends just as a wave knocked Zora off her board and almost immediately after, Nico had jumped in after her. Before she knew it, Grady and Sonny had come back to the beach in a panic.

"Where are they?" Sonny asked, her eyes searching the rowdy ocean.

"I don't know!" Tawni said. "And why is the ocean suddenly all, stormy like?"

"I thought it was supposed to be nice today!" Grady said.

"It was!" Sonny said. Her eyes never left the ocean. After what felt like a long time, they finally noticed Nico making his way out of the ocean, holding an unconscious Zora in his arms.

Without a word the three ran over to him as he placed their youngest friend on the ground. Nico looked helplessly at them, not knowing what to do. Sonny kneeled down, nudging Nico to the side, and began to pump Zora's chest.

After only a few pumps the 11-year old began to cough out water. Sonny helped her to sit up and Tawni placed her towel over Zora's shoulders.

"Are you okay Z?" Nico asked. Zora merely nodded.

Sonny and Tawni shared a knowing glance. "I think we should go back to my house now," Sonny said.

"Yeah, that sounds good," Nico said.

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**Please review! I'd like to know what you liked or just what you think of it. **

**I'll make virtual cookies for you if you do! XD**


	4. Chapter 4

_**Okay, I'm just going to say, I'm a little disappointed that I've only gotten one review so far because I've gotten a lot of hits. So thank you ColbyQB18 for reviewing! I hope more people will review, I'll give you all cookies if you do!!! :)**_

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**Chapter 4:**

_Zora was running; she was running harder and faster than she ever had in her eleven years of life. Her breath was leaving her body just as fast. She couldn't catch it fast enough. Each time her feet pounded against the ground she was on, she wanted to drop on the spot._

_She made way to the door that seemed so far away. She opened it and rushed inside to find a set of stairs that looked as if they didn't have an end. Without a second thought, she dashed up the stairs, using all of her energy to skip over one with each step. She grew accustomed to the rhythm of her steps, only to have a crash that shook the building throw her off balance. She stole a glance at the floors below; the water was rising. It would catch up to her soon if she didn't step it up a notch. _

_Another crash was heard, only this time from above. Without missing a step, she looked up to see more water rushing down from above. There was no escaping from it now. Before Zora could think of anything to get out of this jam the water slammed down on her, knocking the wind out of her in the process. Flailing about in the water she could see no surface. Her mind began to fade; her arms and legs slowly began to stop moving. Everything was going black…_

Zora bolted up from her slumber. Panting heavily she looked around the Monroe apartment living room; Sonny was asleep on the pullout bed, muttering every so often. Down on the floor Nico and Grady were passed out in their sleeping bags. Slowing her breathing, Zora noticed Tawni wasn't in her spot next to Sonny on the pullout bed, but didn't think much of it. Not knowing what to do, Zora pulled off her blankets and sat up against the back of the loveseat, pushing the remains of her nightmare out of her mind.

A creaking sound was heard and Zora whipped her head towards the noise. With the only lights being from the streetlights and moon outside, Zora was able to make out Tawni's figure, which turned on a lamp near the kitchen door.

"Zora? What are you doing up?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Zora said. She noticed Tawni was holding a Ben & Jerry's container of cookie-dough ice cream. Zora raised her brow at Tawni who caught the look.

"You _never_ saw this," Tawni said. Zora only nodded at the older girl. Tawni looked at Zora with a tilted head. "So, you won't go off and tell Nico, or Grady, or Sonny about this. Or hold it over my head to make me do weird things, like going to an animal morgue?"

"No," Zora said.

Tawni placed the carton of ice cream on the end table. She sat next to Zora on the loveseat. "Is there something wrong?"

"No, nothing," Zora answered; too quickly Tawni noticed.

"Zora, I've known you for too long. I can tell when something bothers you, because it hardly ever happens."

Zora sighed. "Fine. I had a bad dream." Zora paused; the feelings from the dream came back to her. "A really bad one."

Tawni put her arm around Zora's shoulder, neither of them really noticing her action. "Well, it was _just_ a bad dream Zora. You can't let them bother you."

Zora nodded. She looked from the floor to Tawni. "Wait, why are you being all…deep, and nice?"

"Well, it's kinda hard to look in the mirror when it's dark."

"Then why don't you… never mind," Zora said with a smile to herself.

Tawni caught the smile, believing it was from her words and removed her arm from Zora's shoulder. "Okay, so remember Zora, this moment – the ice cream and talk and all that – never, I repeat _never_ happened. Got it?"

"Yeah," Zora said with a nod. Tawni stood up and took her ice cream back into the kitchen. Her smile fading, Zora fell back to her pillow. She knew that for once, Tawni was right, and she should let go of the dream, but still, she couldn't help but think of it every time she closed her eyes.

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_**Again, please review if you liked! I'll do a happy dance and make you all cookies! :)**_


	5. Chapter 5

Here's the next chapter! Hope you like! Remember, review and you get a cookie! :D

And 'High School Miserable' is officially my favorite SWAC eppy! XD

Onto the story!

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**Chapter 5:**

The following morning the cast was in Sonny's living room watching TV as they decided what they should do for the day. They ruled out the beach, due to high tide and the previous day's incident. As Sonny listed the possible things they could do, Nico flipped through the channels, only half listening to what she was saying. Tawni was looking at herself in her compact mirror; Grady was actually listening to Sonny as well as Zora, who was absent-mindedly staring at the TV.

"I wonder if Chip Drama Pants noticed we weren't there yesterday," Nico said as he passed an episode of _MacKenzie Falls_.

"He had to have noticed," Sonny said. "He always has to come over to our stage and bug us about something."

"Ha, no Sonny," Tawni said. "He comes over to bug you. But your right, he probably did notice, and I guarantee that he thinks Mr. Condor cancelled our show."

"Whoa, what?" Zora said turning her attention to Tawni.

"Oh come on, like he wouldn't think that?"

"No, not that," Zora said. "You agreed with Sonny."

"Yeah, that's a first," Grady said.

"Oh, whatever," Sonny said. "And there's no way he thinks that Tawni. It wasn't like we were called down to his office to get the boot. Where would he get that idea that we were cancelled?"

"He has high hopes Sonny," Nico said.

"Psh, come on you guys…"

"No, _you _come on Sonny," Tawni said. "If you don't believe us, we'll just have to show you."

Grady turned to Nico with a huge grin on his face. "I know what we're gonna do today!"

"Yeah, we're gonna bust Chad Dylan Cooper's bubble!" Nico said.

"Do we _all _have to go?" Zora asked leaning back in the recliner.

Tawni, who already had gotten her keys and sunglasses, looked at Zora as well as everyone else. "Are you saying you don't want to go and see the devastating look on Chad's face when he realizes we weren't cancelled?"

Zora shrugged.

"Come on Zora, you _live_ for this kind of thing to happen!" Grady said.

"Is something wrong Zora?" Sonny asked.

Zora shrugged again. "I'm just really tired."

"Well the fresh air will wake you up," Tawni said. "Now let's get moving people!"

"Where is everyone?" Grady asked. The cast had gone through the main sections of Condor Studios to find no one was there. "Do you think Mr. Condor gave everyone a vacation?"

"I doubt it," Nico said. "He hardly gives vacations as it is."

"Well, we haven't gone to the MacKenzie Falls stage yet," Sonny said. The five walked past their stage and over to stage two where _MacKenzie Falls_ was filmed. When they went inside they were greeted with a party, with posters around with the _So Random!_ logo with an "X" over it.

Sonny's jaw dropped, and Tawni gave her the "I told you so" look.

"I can't believe this," Sonny said. She spotted Chad and marched over to him, her friends close behind. She tapped him on the shoulder and he turned around.

"Oh, hey Sonny," Chad said. He turned back around, his eyes wide open. "Sonny?" Everyone stopped and looked at the center of the room. Teens from the other Condor productions made a hasty exit, leaving the _Falls_ cast with the _Random_ cast.

"Um, heh, what are you doing here?" Chad asked. "Wasn't your little show… cancelled?"

"No, we weren't," Sonny said. "What made you think that we were?"

"Well, you weren't here yesterday. At all."

"That's because we're on vacation Chip," Nico said.

"Well, here at the Falls, we don't take vacations," Chad said. "The only days we take off are Christmas, and my birthday. Besides, how did you get yourselves a vacation?"

"Mr. Condor gave it to us," Grady said. The mouths of the _Falls_ cast dropped. "Yeah, he gave us three whole weeks off."

Chad stuttered not able to think of any clever comeback. He felt a nudge on his leg as Dakota Condor made her way to face the opposing cast.

"Why are you here then?" Dakota asked. She eyed each of the five, her eyes narrowing as they fell on Zora. "Don't you have a circus to be a part of?"

Sonny and Tawni immediately grabbed Zora's arms to hold her back from attacking, as Chad prepared to hold Dakota back. Both casts and Dakota were surprised when Zora just stood in her place, not responding to Dakota's insult.

"Zora? Don't you want to, I don't know, call Dakota "evil" and attack her?" Sonny asked.

Zora scratched the back of her neck. "Not really."

"What? Are you too tired to do that too?" Tawni asked.

"No. I just don't… want to," Zora said. She looked up at Sonny. "Tawni proved you wrong, we all proved Chad wrong, so can we leave now?"

Recovering from the shock of Zora's un-Zora-like behavior Sonny could only nod. Zora walked out of the room with Tawni, Nico, and Grady silently following. Sonny turned to Chad and Dakota who were just as shocked. "So uh, we'll see you in three weeks."


	6. Chapter 6

Thanks to _**jakeoman111**_, **_ColbyQB18_**, **_BlackBloodedMagic_**, **_kfodom_**, and **yay** for your reviews!!! You all get cookies!!! _*hands each person 5 cookies*_ XD

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**Chapter 6:**

After leaving the studio, the cast headed back to Sonny's house. Being such a nice day out, they didn't want to waste it inside. Tawni had eagerly suggested they go to her house to swim in her Olympic size pool, to which Nico and Grady agreed on the spot. Soon the cast was at the Hart residence; Nico, Grady and Sonny were in the pool, taking turns jumping off the diving board, Tawni was tanning on a lounge chair, and Zora sat near the shallow end of the pool with her feet in the water.

After a while, Tawni finally noticed that Zora was only sitting a couple of feet away from her. She took off her sunglasses. "Zora, I thought you were in the pool."

Zora turned to look at Tawni. "Well, my feet are in the pool."

"You know what I meant." Zora just looked at her, not responding. Zora felt a tug on her foot and screamed, pulling her feet out of the water. Her head jerked to the pool where Sonny was now standing in the shallow end.

"Geez Sonny, you scared me!" Zora yelled.

Tawni was laughing in her chair, now sitting up. "Good one Sonny!" Zora glared at the blonde.

"I'm sorry Zora," Sonny said. "I didn't really mean to scare you."

Zora relaxed her body. "It's okay."

Sonny smiled. "So, why aren't you in the pool?

"I, uh, didn't bring my bathing suit."

"What?" Tawni said. "Why not? You knew we were coming here to _swim_."

"Yeah, well, I didn't feel like bringing it," Zora said. "I'm fine with just keeping my feet in the water."

Sonny shrugged. "Okay." She looked at Tawni. "So are you ever going to come in the water? It seems like you never go swimming."

"For your information Sonny, I was just about to go into the water before you scared Zora," Tawni said. With that said Tawni got up from her seat and walked over to the diving board.

After watching Tawni dive in the pool Sonny turned back to Zora. "Do you need some company over here now that Tawni's actually in the pool?"

"Nah," Zora said. "I'm gonna go get a snack or something anyway."

"Okay."

Zora stood up and walked into the house. Tawni's house wasn't a mansion, but there was still a butler and maid, although both were nowhere to be seen. Zora walked into the kitchen and went right for the fridge. She grabbed a bottle of water and chugged half of it down before sitting down at the island. She needed to be inside, away from the pool where her friends were having fun.

"Hey Z." Zora looked up to see Nico walking into the kitchen. He grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and stood opposite of her. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Why is everyone all, touchy-feely and caring all of a sudden?"

Nico shrugged. "Well, you know, you'd normally be out there in the pool until we'd have to drag you out. But you're in here. Plus, you know, I guess we're just, worried after yesterday."

Zora felt a twinge of guilt in her stomach. She had forgotten that had it not been for Nico and Sonny, she would not be sitting in Tawni's kitchen right then. "Oh, yeah…"

"Hey, don't worry about it Z," Nico said smiling. "We're just looking out for ya. You're like our little sister, so looking out for you is kind of our job." Zora nodded in understanding. "Well, I'm gonna head back out. You coming?"

"Not yet. I still haven't gotten a snack yet," Zora said.

"Okay then," Nico said.

Zora smiled as he left. The _So Random!_ cast had always thought of themselves as a family, a very dysfunctional family at that. It was only natural that they'd worry about each other, even though Tawni would never bring herself to admit it. Taking a slice of watermelon from the fridge, Zora went back outside to enjoy the weather.

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Once again, review and you get 5 cookies!!! XD


	7. Chapter 7

**_Thanks again to those who reviewed! You are all amazing and get cookies!! XD_**

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**Chapter 7:**

Zora woke up with a start. She looked at the digital time on the cable box – 1:13am. She fell back to her pillow with a sigh.

"Zora?" a sleepy voice said.

Zora turned over and saw Sonny getting out of her place on the pullout bed. Tawni made a noise and turned over, holding the blanket close to her body and mumbling something that included the word 'pretty.' Zora sat up so Sonny could sit next to her.

"Why are you up?" Sonny asked.

Knowing Sonny would get it out of her, just as Tawni had a couple of nights ago, Zora sighed. "I had another nightmare."

"Another?"

"Yeah, I've been getting them a lot lately," Zora said.

"Are they really bad?"

Zora shifted. "Yeah…"

"Do you wanna talk about it?" Sonny asked. "It might help you let go of it if you vent it out."

"Okay, here it is," Zora said. "It's pretty much always the same, I'm running away from this thing and I never seem to get away, and in the end, I'm about to die then I wake up. That's it, it doesn't sound like a lot, but it seems so real and it actually feels like its happening."

"I'm sure it does Zora," Sonny said. "I used to have nightmares like that too, but the thing to remember is that-"

"It's just a dream," Zora finished. "I know."

"Right," Sonny said smiling. "So just go back to sleep and try to forget about it." She started to get up, but Zora grabbed her arm. "Yeah Zora?"

"Sonny, do you think you can… stay with me for a bit longer?" the 11-year old asked uncomfortably. It was a rare occasion when Zora was too scared to sleep alone. In fact, it hadn't happened since she was 4.

Feeling an urge of protectiveness toward Zora, Sonny nodded and sat on the table in front of the loveseat. Zora rested her head onto her pillow, looking up at the ceiling. After a minute or so, Sonny began to softly hum a song her mom would sing to her when she was younger and couldn't fall asleep.

Zora eyes began to feel heavy; sleep was quickly taking over her mind and body. Sonny had gone into a third round of humming her song before she noticed that her younger friend had fallen into a slumber. Smiling, Sonny stood up and covered Zora with a blanket before going back to bed herself.

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****_Again, review and get cookies! Maybe I'll even make brownies too XD_**


	8. Chapter 8

_**I thank everyone who reads this story! And I especially thank those who review! **_

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**Chapter 8:**

After a few rainy/cloudy days, the weather was finally nice enough for the cast to head to the beach once more. Sonny had checked five different times to make sure the waters would be calm so they could avoid an incident like the last one.

At the beach Sonny was surprised to see Tawni in the water with her and the boys, and to see that Zora still had yet to go into the water. From her spot she saw the 11 year old a ways up the beach, reading a book, looking up every so often to watch her friends in the water.

"Hey guys, isn't it weird that Zora hasn't come in the water at all?" Sonny said.

Nico stopped splashing Grady and looked at where Zora sat on the beach. "Yeah, it's like Zora and Tawni switched places."

"What do you mean?" Grady said.

"'Cause Tawni's usually on the beach and Zora's usually in the water," Nico said.

"What's up with that anyway?" Tawni said. "Every time we went swimming this week she hasn't gone into the water."

"That is odd," Sonny said. Nico and Grady shrugged, not having a clue on how to explain this situation. The four looked at their younger friend on the beach. Zora lifted her head to make a distant eye contact with them before hastily turning back to her book.

Tawni tilted her head. "I wonder if it has anything to do with that nightmare she had a few nights ago."

Sonny turned to Tawni. "A few nights ago?" She paused; Nico, Grady, and Tawni looked at her. "That must have been what she meant about getting them a lot lately."

"When did she say that?" Tawni asked.

"Last night," Sonny said. "I heard her scream in the middle of the night because she had a nightmare. Then I stayed up until she fell asleep."

"So she's been getting nightmares?" Nico asked. Sonny and Tawni nodded.

"Hey, do you think it had anything to do with that day at the beach?" Grady asked.

Sonny's eyes widened. "Oh my goodness Grady! That's it! She must be having nightmares about the water and now she's afraid of it!"

"That explains why she hasn't gone swimming all week," Tawni said. "But shouldn't she be over it by now?"

"Phobias are kinda hard to get past," Nico said.

"Yeah, but there's a saying for that," Grady said. He looked at the girls. "Isn't there?"

Sonny thought for a moment. "Oh yeah! They say that to get over a fear, you have to face it."

"Huh?"

Tawni sighed. "She means that Zora's afraid of the water, so what we have to do is get her back into the water somehow."

"So how are we gonna do that?" Nico asked.

"Yeah, Zora will know what we're doing," Grady said. "She's smart like that."

"I have an idea," Sonny said. "And I think it might even be Zora-proof."

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**_You know what I'm thinking! _**

**_Review and get a cookie, a brownie, and SKITTLES!!!! XD_**


	9. Chapter 9

**_Thanks to those who reviewed the last few chapters! *hands out cookies, brownies, and skittles*_**

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**Chapter 9:**

Only a few days later the cast had decided to do something different and try going out to one of the malls that was a few towns away. Tawni was driving her silver convertible, Sonny riding in the passenger seat next to her. Zora was sitting in the middle seat in the back with Nico to her left and Grady to her right.

"How much longer till we're there?" Grady asked, getting anxious.

"Not long," Sonny said seeing a sign that read "Malibu Beach, 1 mile." Looking the way Sonny was, Zora read the same sign, and realized what her friends were up to.

"Wait, we're not going to the mall, we're going to the beach!"

Tawni caught Zora's eyes in the rear-view mirror. "What makes you say that?"

"We just passed a sign that says Malibu Beach is a mile away," Zora said. "I can't believe you guys are doing this to me!"

"Zora, we're trying to help you," Sonny said turning to face the back of the car.

"No! Go back! I don't want to go to the beach!"

"But Zora –"

Zora started reaching for her seatbelt. "I will jump out of the car!"

"Oh no you won't," Tawni said. "Nico, Grady, hold her in." She locked with Zora's eyes through the mirror once more. "You're not leaving this car, and I'm not turning around. You're going to get over this fear and enjoy the rest of your vacation."

Zora said nothing. She only struggled against Nico and Grady who had a tight hold on her. Only after a few minutes she grunted and gave up for the time being.

**_xXXXxXXXxXXXx_**

Nico and Grady led the way down the beach while Sonny and Tawni followed, dragging Zora who was struggling against them.

"Let go! Don't make me do this!"

"It's for your own good Zora!" Sonny said. It pained her, but she wanted the old Zora back; the Zora who wasn't afraid of the water, and who barked whenever Dakota Condor threw an insult at her.

As they neared the water they got a good look at the waters Sonny realized that this may have not been a good idea at all. The ocean was taking no prisoners. People were yelling as they fell off their boards, boards were snapping in half. Not too far away there was a lifeguard attempting to revive a victim of the ocean.

Zora's eyes darted from one scene to another. Flashbacks of the ocean dragging her under and her similar nightmares raced through her mind. She stopped struggling against the older girls' grips on her arms and let her body go limp.

Not feeling the younger girl struggle, Tawni and Sonny let go of Zora's arms and turned to see her on the ground. She looked up at them, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Don't make me go in there… Please…"

Sonny and Tawni felt their stomachs drop. They had only wanted to help Zora, but rather, they pushed her to her breaking point. The older girls turned to Nico and Grady, who stood speechless looking from Zora to them.

Sonny broke the silence. "I think we should go back home."

**_xXXXxXXXxXXXx_**

Tawni had let Nico drive home while she and Sonny sat on either side of Zora. The ride consisted of no noise other than sniffles that escaped Zora after she had fallen asleep, her head resting on the blonde who was not used to this sort of thing.

After arriving at the Monroe home, Nico had carried the sleeping 11-year old to the loveseat. Together, they decided to let Zora rest while they went up to Sonny's room to watch a movie. It was around 10pm when they heard a thud from the floor below. The four got up and ran downstairs, Nico grabbing a bat that was located near the stairs.

"Zora? Are you okay?" Sonny said as they entered the dark room. She flipped the lights on and located Zora sitting on the floor, looking distressed.

Nico dropped the bat and shrugged at Grady, who stood in his spot as Tawni and Sonny approached Zora.

"Nightmare?" was all Tawni said to Zora, who nodded her head. Tawni sat on the floor next to Zora and placed her arm around the Zora's shoulder, letting the girl she considered a younger sister rest her head on Tawni's shoulder as she had earlier in the car.

Sonny looked from Tawni and Zora to the boys. They shared a knowing look on their faces. They had not helped their friend at all by taking action, so they'd have to sit on the sidelines and just be ready to help when Zora was ready for it.

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**_Honestly, you should know the deal by now._**

**_For those who may not, review = cookies, brownies, and/or skittles._**

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	10. Chapter 10

**_Thanks to ZoraAshleyArm and kfodom! You're reviews meant a lot!(:_**

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**Chapter 10:**

The following morning the cast found themselves once again watching TV as they tried to decide on what they should do for the day. It was still quite early in the day when Tawni's phone went off.

"Who is it?" Sonny asked as Tawni checked the message.

"It's from Marshall," Tawni replied. As she read the text the others exchanged glances. "He said that Mr. Condor is throwing a party at Raging Waters this afternoon because the studio got some award for having the best tween shows. He rented out the entire park just for all the casts."

"Sweet!" Grady said. "I haven't been to Raging Waters since I first moved to California!"

Sonny glanced at Zora, and then looked back to Tawni. "Do we all really have to go to the party?"

It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out why Sonny had asked the question. The four teens looked at their younger friend with concerned eyes. Zora looked away from the TV to see that they were looking at her.

"If you guys want to go, don't let me get in your way," Zora said. "I'm not against going. I just won't be in the water."

"You really don't mind Zora?" Sonny asked.

"No."

Sonny looked at Tawni. "Okay then, tell Marshall we'll be there."

_**xXXXxXXXxXXXx**_

Tawni led the cast into the water park after getting by the gates. They saw all the familiar faces of all the other teens from the other shows that were shot at Condor Studios.

"Kids! I'm glad you made it!" Marshall said coming over to them.

"This party is off the hook!" Nico said watching the other teen having fun on the water rides.

"Oh my- Are those new water slides?" Grady asked gazing at the new towers.

"Yeah, and that's not all that's new," Marshall said. He pointed to a pool. "They have a new wave pool that gives off ocean like waves! Doesn't that sound like fun?"

The cast all exchanged looks that went unnoticed by Marshall. "Yeah…"

"Okay, well the food's all free and there are rides and, ah you kids know how to have fun! See you around!"

Marshall hurried off and the cast relaxed a bit.

"Well, he's sure having fun," Tawni said.

"And we should too," Sonny said. "So what should we do first?"

"I'm gonna hit the food court!"

"I'm with G!"

"Tanning!"

"Something that doesn't have to do with water…"

"Oh-kay," Sonny said. "I guess we can all just split up since we want to do different things."

"Okay, see you later," Nico said as he and Grady headed off for the food. Zora took the book she had been reading and went off in a different direction.

Sonny looked at Tawni. "Are you going to leave me too?"

"Well, I do want to sit in the sun before hitting any pools, but…"

"But what?"

"I guess we can go on a ride or something," Tawni said. Sonny smiled. "But only because I've been tanning almost all of our vacation."

"Yeah, _sure _Tawni."

**_xXXXxXXXxXXXx_**

Sonny and Tawni later met up with Nico and Grady on one of the new waterslides. What they hadn't expected was to see Chad and Dakota in line for the same ride.

"Randoms," Chad said.

"Chad."

"Chip."

"You're missing one…" Chad said raising his brow.

"Oh really Chad?" Sonny said. "I hadn't noticed."

Chad mocked a laugh.

Dakota gave a quizzical look. "Where is Zora? Is she skipping the party?"

"Why would you care?" Tawni asked.

"Well, it could slip to Daddy that one of his TV stars thought they were too good to show up," Dakota said, a mischievous smile on her lips.

"Yeah, well, Daddy's not going to be hearing that," Nico said, "'cause Z's right down there."

Nico was pointing to a spot near the food court that was set off from the water. She happened to look up from her book and see her friends plus Chad and Dakota looking at her. Her eyes averted Chad and Dakota's, but she had made contact with her friends before going back to her book.

"Why is she down there, _reading_?" Chad asked, his face cringing at the last word.

"That's none of your business Chip!" Grady said.

"Maybe not his, but it is mine," Dakota said. "Remember, my daddy's your boss."

Sonny rolled her eyes. "Fine, you really want to know?" Chad and Dakota nodded. "Okay, here it is. On our first day of vacation we went to the beach, and Zora got caught in a bad wave and went under. Nico got her out of the water, I revived her, and now she's afraid of the water. Okay?"

Chad and Dakota just looked at her. Chad scratched the back of his head, a smile forming.

"What?" Sonny asked, clearly annoyed.

"Well, don't you know that when you're afraid of something, you have to face it again and then you'll be over it?" Chad said.

"About that…" Grady said. "We tried that…"

"Yeah? So?" Dakota said.

"We didn't pick the best day to go to the beach," Nico said. "People were wiping out like crazy, and it freaked Zora out even more."

"So much more she actually cried and begged us to bring her back home," Tawni said, getting the feeling she had yesterday.

"What? Wait," Chad said, becoming serious. "Did you just say she _cried_?"

"Yeah," Tawni said. "And if you dare to use it against her I swear I'll –"

"Whoa, relax! I didn't say anything about that!"

"Whatever Chad," Sonny said. "Just drop the whole thing. It's not like either of you care anyway."

Chad and Dakota stood in silence as the cast got into their tube and went down the gigantic water ride.

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**_**Review = cookies, brownies, skittles, or other candy of your choice!(:**_


	11. Chapter 11

**_Once again, thanks kfodom for reviewing!_**

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**Chapter 11:**

Only a couple days after the water park Tawni had gotten another text from Marshall saying that Mr. Condor was holding a party at his home for the casts of _MacKenzie Falls_ and _So Random!_ for ranking in the top spots.

They arrived at the party to see that he _Falls_ cast was already there and having a good time. In order to prevent getting fired, both casts had agreed to keep cool heads at the party. Tawni went over to a lounge chair, which happened to be next to Portlyn, and began to relax. Nico and Grady went right into the pool, and Zora found a spot a safe distance away from the pool to read – like she had at the last party. Sonny picked at some snacks and watched her friends for a short time before going to the lounge chair next to Tawni.

Tawni turned to Sonny. "Where's Zora?"

"She's near the swing set reading," Sonny said.

"Again?" Tawni sat up in her seat. "I wish we could do something."

"Yeah, but last time we tried it didn't go over so well," Sonny said.

"I know. No need to remind me."

"Randoms…"

The girls turned to see Chad standing near Portlyn.

"Chad."

"So uh, cool party," Chad said, being careful of his words.

"Yeah," Sonny said. There was a moment of silence. "Yeah, I'm not liking this whole 'getting along' thing."

"Me either," Tawni said. "It's just really weird."

"For once I agree," Chad said. "Uh, so how's that whole… situation with Little Random?"

The girls rolled their eyes.

"Why do you care Chad?" Tawni asked.

"Chad Dylan Cooper doesn't need to have a reason to ask questions," he said. "And, Chad Dylan Cooper doesn't care about, _Randoms_."

"Yeah, we know Chad," Sonny said. "But if you must know, it's no better than at Raging Waters."

"Well, maybe you should try to do something to help her," Chad said. "Again."

"Yeah, because it went _so_ well the first time," Tawni said, now standing. "And why do –"

"Yeah, I don't care," Chad said. "I just know that the longer you let this go on, the harder it will be for her to face her fear."

Tawni and Sonny looked at each other, both knowing that Chad was right.

**_xXXXxXXXxXXXx_**

Zora had been listening to the conversation between the older teens. She had a gut wrenching feeling that her friends might try to get her to confront her fear again. She knew they meant well, but she wasn't ready – she couldn't bring herself to face it just yet.

Closing her book and placing it on the ground Zora lifted herself up from the grass. If she stayed where she was her friends were definitely going to come and try to make her face the water. Knowing that as long as they couldn't find her, they would give up – so she needed to find a place to hide.

Zora had no choice other than to walk around the pool. Nico and Grady were by the food last time she saw them, and she couldn't go along the grass because Sonny and Tawni were facing that way as they talked to Chad. She quickened her pace as she walked along the backs of her two older friends.

"Watch out Z!"

Zora turned to see Nico and Grady across the way, but before she could turn to what they were pointing at, something had hit her and she fell into the pool.

**_xXXXxXXXxXXXx_**

Sonny and Tawni heard Nico and Grady's cries to Zora just in time to watch their younger friend fall into the pool. Immediately the two girls ran to the edge of the pool as Zora resurfaced, spitting out the chlorine-filled water. Nico and Grady reached them as Tawni and Sonny pulled Zora out from the pool.

"Zora are you okay?" Sonny asked.

Zora didn't answer her. She looked around the yard quickly then to Nico and Grady. "Who pushed me in?"

Nico and Grady pointed behind the girls. The three turned to see that they were pointing at Dakota who had just given Chad a high-five. The nine year old smiled, even as the attention was turned onto her.

"E-vil," Zora said, narrowing her eyes at the younger girl. As Zora began to chase her nemesis around the yard Sonny and Tawni looked at Chad.

"You planned this the whole time, didn't you?" Sonny asked.

Chad scoffed. "What makes you say that?"

"Um, you and Dakota high-fiving after she pushed Zora into the pool," Tawni said. Chad remained silent.

"I don't get it," Sonny said. "Why would you help?"

"Chad Dylan Cooper doesn't –"

"Need a reason to help," Tawni finished, rolling her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, yeah."

Sonny rolled her eyes along with her best friend. She looked at Chad. "Well, thanks."

"Yeah, well, don't get used to it," Chad said.

The three turned to look for the younger girls, only in time to watch as Dakota jumped onto Chad, knocking him off balance, and sending the two into the pool. Zora ran to her friends in time to join them in the laughter as Chad and Dakota resurfaced.

"Consider that your payback!" Zora said to Dakota.

"So you're feeling better now Z?" Nico asked. Zora nodded, a huge grin on her face.

"Alright!" Grady said. He looked at his friends. "Who's up for a cannonball contest?"

"Oh yeah!"

Sonny and Tawni watched Zora and the boys run toward the diving board. Zora went first, getting quite some air from her jump, and giving off a good splash as she hit the water.

"Zora's back!" Sonny and Tawni said giving each other a high-five before jumping into the pool to join their friends.

**The End**

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****_Thanks to all those who read! Now you all get cookies!!!_**

**_But you get extra cookies for reviewing!!!(:_**

**_Thanks again for reading! I'll have more SWAC fics coming soon!_**

**_Right now I do have a SWAC crossover going, you can check it out on my profile!_**

**_And it's perfect that I ended up posting this last chapter on Allisyn Ashley Arm's birthday!(:_**


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